School Helping with Real Life, What?

I'm a Classical Studies major, and as such this semester I have been taking a class about Pompeii & Herculaneum, and for my final project I've been working on a children's series that connects historical information with fantastical elements. It's aimed at middle graders (which I have been wanting to write one of those for a long time) and it's about a boy (boys have been seriously under written). It has been hugely difficult for two reasons:

I've never had to do actual real research with citations and keeping track of information while writing a book. Holy Cow what? I just write things. But when putting it in Modern day Erculano and ancient Herculaneum suddenly, you have to be sure the artwork is accurate and that the people's names are accurate and ohmygoodness what. What are they wearing? What does water taste like? What did they eat? AND YOU KNOW WHAT. No one cares about the middle class freedmen who didn't make loads of money. So much of my research is so much difficult because people only care about the upper class. And well, only the upper class could really write things that were written in papyri and saved for forever and a day. But phooey to them. I want to write about a freedman, who lost his wife, who takes a boy under his wing, and that boy is going to be a mythologically real creature that doesn't know it.

And this boy's name is Caecilius, and he is unburied in ancient Herculaneum by a Dr. Lazarus - alive. And Caecilius tells his story about life in ancient Pompeii.

And today I had to read my story aloud to class. AHHHHHHHH! Nerve-wracking. Because of the second reason:

I've had a really difficult writing lately. I'm supposed to be editing WhiteWashed. I'm supposed to be querying. I'm supposed to be getting published and at least working for it, but I haven't been. It's just easy to get frustrated because I don't feel like I know what I'm doing, and most of the time I just feel adequate.

You know. When you read a book and you're response is ".................." Nothing bad to say, but nothing to jump over either. And that's what I've been thinking. What if I'm not a good writer? What if I'm just adequate? There must be something I'm doing wrong. A part of it is I'm convinced I'm writing crappy query letters, though that's my fault. But what if what I've written is... just okay.

So today having to read stuff to a bunch of people thinking, hey, what if I'm just adequate? is not a fun thing to do. And, a blessing and a curse, the one girl brought her kids in. Kids that are the age range I'm writing my books for. Plus: the professor knows like EVERYTHING there is to know about Pompeii and Herculaneum. If I get ANYTHING wrong she will know. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Nerve-wracking.

On a side note: wrack is a weird word. Why are my nerves being wracked? That's just weird. Carrying on:

BUT I finished and there was that moment of silence, you know? when someone's reading aloud a good book, not an adequate book, a good one, and after the author stops reading everyone is waiting for me and taking it in... That was the silence I got.

Did you ever know silence can be an incredible gift?

And one of the girls said, "when you publish that book, let me know, so I can read it, and find out what happens." And my professor asked: "So, did you learn anything from her book?" and she said, "I learned that she can write really well." And my professor said, "Yes, we did." She's my advisor and ohmygoodness I was so nervous and AHHHHHHHH.

And the mother came up after me and said, "No, seriously, keep writing those books. The world needs that series."

Can I go cry now? No? I have to write a philosophy paper about Kant?

Well. Why knows. Maybe this paper will also help me in real life. Because there's this strange thing that happens when you just go through life and live it: awesome things happen.

Age & Nightshade

Recently I read Nightshade by Andrea Cramer. It was pretty good. The mythos was fascinating and not something I had read before. The characters were real and I could relate with them. And I was excited because the language was nice and clean.

However, this book did bring up something that I've noticed in YA books. If I had read this when I was actually a teen I would've been very, Very, VERY uncomfortable. There were at least three scenes that were heavy on the sensual and I had to question myself: Is this appropriate? I mean, the one bathroom scene was so disconcerting. Is this really happening in schools?? And if it is, why is this okay? When did the physical boundaries between guys and girls get chucked out the window?

Now, I understand that in the books situation the girl was preparing to get married and was being treated as an adult and all that. But still. This is not the only book that pushes the physical boundaries. My friend read the Halo books and said there was a scene in them where she was going "Holy Crow! She should not be doing that!"

I also am reminded of one of the panels I sat in on at Polaris where one of the YA authors said their agent was telling them to make their book Sexier. Omgoodness... WHY!? There is a large demographic out there that does NOT want it to be sexier, who are Tired of Sex permeating Everything, especially our used-to-be safe books. And they're pushing it younger and younger. Independent Readers/Middle Grade books are starting to get a little scary when it comes to the relationship aspects to life.

My question is: When did it become okay for teens to have sex with random people before they're married? When did it become okay for authors to TELL teens that this is okay behavior? Yes, yes. I understand that you want a world to be believable. Diana Peterfreund in her Killer Unicorn books has to deal with that temptation because if the girl's aren't virgins they ain't going to be Unicorn Hunters. But I think she does a pretty darn good job of not making it Way Too Awkward for me to read.

At first I thought one of the reasons for the Sultriness was because it seems like a whole lot of Romance novelists are writing for YA now, but that's not fair. Karen Armstrong wrote for YA and her books were very well written and tastefully done when it came to the romance. It was *gasp* Age Appropriate.

So I'm curious what you think? Are Teen books becoming Too Much Sexy? Are you okay with the sexified state of books? Also: On a slightly unrelated note, do you think it would help if a twenty-something age group of books were developed so you could have slightly sexier books without them being for teens?

Books I Read in 2010 Part 2

Here is the continuing tale of the books I read in 2010. If you missed it Here is the link to my first post. Enjoy!

Most Decidedly Definitely not a book I would normally pick up and read, because it was a little more feminist then I tend to lean. However, I saw it in the library and decided to give it a go. Very interesting stuff. I love reading about fairy tales and folklore, and this was a fascinating read that showed me some ideas that while I might not agree, it's nice now to know what people are talking about.

Why I Picked This Book: Another non-fiction book that I could actually finish. Also, another book that I read despite thinking I wouldn't like it. And I did. I learned a lot this past year that you can't judge a book by its cover, title, or possible content. Well, sometimes you can. But sometimes you can't. So sometimes you need to just give a book a chance and see what catagory it truly fits in.

I read this along with Sophocles threesome. I love Greek playwrights and historians and essayists. I have no idea why. But either way, I loved Aristophanes. Though the one play was highly inappropriate and might skip upon re-reading this: Aristophanes is hilarious.

Why I Picked This Book: Because most people do not count Aristophanes as one of their favorite writers. I think more people should.

Oh. My Goodness. I loved this book. I consider it Snikette-esque (a category in books that I use quite often, though I'm not sure if others do). I laughed aloud time and again.

Why I Chose This Book: I had never heard of J.T. Petty until I was in The Strand in the City with my friend Rose and she laughed. The book was The Hobgobline Proxy and the said, "Look! Hobgoblins!" because a few nights before my mum made a hobgoblin face and we started calling her that (with all the love in the world, I assure you). I read the entire book and then forgot about it. Months later I remembered I had read some book with hobgoblins and amazoned it. Fortunately, there are not a lot of books with the word hobgoblin in it and I was able to find it. And then I read pretty much everything he wrote. He's a funny guy and this may sound strange, but I liked seeing him grow as a writer. His first book, Clemency Pogue Fairy Killer was not as good as Scrivener Bees. Sometimes I read an author and there first book is insanely good, and then the next one doesn't quite match up. As a writer I hope that each book will be better than the last (well, or at least close to). This was strangely encouraging for me to see in real life.

My Fair Godmother by Janette Rallison, Dear Anjali by Melissa Glenn Haber, Swan Maiden by Heather Tomlinson, and all of RL LaFevers books were another group I found through agent hunting. I loved them all in so many different ways. They were all wonderfully told stories, though told in significantly different ways.

Why I Chose Them: Again, by searching agents I found some incredible stories. Once I find an agent I will probably still research them in order to find groups of really good books.

I love Lane Smith. His artwork is so fantastic. I just love looking at his artwork. These two, though not written by him, were probably two of my favorite that were illustrated by

him. He helps write a blog about inappropriate books that's pretty interesting. Feel free to check it out Here. That's where I heard about It's a Book. So good, but yes, it is slightly inappropriate.

This book was one of those books that you read at just the right time in just the right moment. I was laughing my face off the entire time, but when my sister read it she found it just a tad too weird. So if you're a fan of weird: go ahead and read it. If you're not the biggest fan of weird: you can feel free to skip this one.

Why I Chose It: This was another one of those books I hadn't seen around anywhere and want more people to hear about it. Thus I have succeeded.

This book I read because of Blam's post over here: Braids of Glory.

Why I Chose This Book: I love books that introduce me, or draw me into, another culture. Although I was already aware of some Jewish sayings and bits of their culture (as my church has held a Passover meal two years in a row... Or the Seder meal? I'm not remembering exactly), it was fun to read something set in Jewish culture so I could learn a bit more and get more of a taste for their culture. Plus, the story is simply fantastic. A strong heroine, evil beasts, and knitting. What could be better?

Well, that's about all for this year. Eventually I will touch on a couple of the other books I read this year that include discussions that will take up more room and time. Thank you for reading! :) Feel free to let me know about any books you've read this past year!

Binge Reading and Bulimia

I have a question for you. Do you binge read? I know I tend to. I will go for awhile without reading anything and then suddenly Ican'tstopreadingtosavemylifeandImustkeepreadingandth

erearetoomanybooksandwordswordsstinkingwords

I also do this with writing. You know, where you haven't written since November and suddenly you lock yourself in your room and start screaming about your characters?

Okay. Ahem. Maybe screaming isn't a normal part of the writing experience, but moving on.

It got me to thinking about bulimia. And no, I'm not going to make fun of bulimic people. I know it's a serious thing and I'm not trying to take away from that. However...

I have always thought about my writing experience as this:

1) Read a Thousand Books.

b) Spend two days-two weeks in shock.

3) Write a Book.

Or in pictures:

See the clown read...

Eat Clown, Eat!

Watch the Clown Vomit.

Clown just wrote a book!

Good job, Clown.

Basically, that is what I look like when I write my first drafts.

How 'bout you? *sits at computer and waits* *grabs chips* *waits*

Books I Read in 2010 Part 1

As I read 149 books this year, (including picture books) I don't think I'll be able to go in depths with every single one of them, though I would like to. Instead, I'm going to focus on the main books that meant a lot to me this year. If you are truly interested in seeing Every Book I Read you can click on the link on the side (though I'll be changing it soon for this year's books) or find it Here. I have mini-mini-reviews on every book.

To begin with:

Not only was this book well-written, but it was humorous and the characters were fun to get to know. Patricia C. Wrede is fantastic. I don't know much about the second author (Carloline Stevermer) but her character was equally enjoyable.

Why I Picked This Book: It changed my life. I now have three (and kinda' a fourth) story that I am writing in the way they did. By exchanging letters back and forth. Even if these books never get published it is a fantastic way to write. It hones your skills, gives you an insane amount of thrilling expectation, and you have an opportunity to work with authors in a fantastically fun way. Which reminds me. I need to write my turn for three of them. *headdesk*

Why I Chose This Book: This book opened my mind to the possibility of Philology and Classical Studies, something I probably wouldn't have taken as seriously if I hadn't read this book. It was encouraging to me not just in that aspect, but also because it was a well-written non-fiction book that I could actually finish. This does not happen very often. This book also made me feel smart because there was a misprint saying that Hera was the goddess of love, when everyone knows it is truly Aphrodite. ;)

With this tale every chapter was from the perspective of a different character, with only a few chapters repeating a perspective. While this sounds like it could be annoying, it was done exceedingly well.

Why I Picked It: This story was so very different. I was simply researching Candlewick Publishing (in case I wanted to intern there) and I came across a book that I will always remember. It's not necessarily happy, but it's touching. Also, it reminded me that sometimes I need to read out of my comfort zone, because there are wonderfully good books that aren't necessarily hard-core fantasy. Boy did I learn that this year.

Matisse on the Loose by Georgia Bragg, Everything is Fine by Ann Dee Ellis, The Witch's Guide to Cooking With Children by Keith McGowan, were all books I stumbled across while agent hunting. I enjoyed all three of them immensely and am so glad I found them. I never would have if I hadn't been researching agents. I will love these books forever. Oh! And I found this particular batch of books in connection with Carrie Jones Need, another lovely book. (I am currently reading the third in the series, Entice.) I totally want to meet her some day.

Ahem. Anyway. I am being professional in this post so moving on...

This book is extremely weird and I will caution you with this: If you pick up this book you probably will question yourself about why in heaven's name are you reading it? It is not until the end of the first chapter that you will (quite possibly) scream "What?!" and continue on in fervor. Or the whole time you will repeat, "This is Weird, this is Weird," but will be unable to stop reading. Or you will hate it entirely. Either way, this book was so much fun. One I would definitely read again.

Why This Book: This, among others (such as Whales on Stilts by M.T. Anderson, Poltergoose by Michael Lawrence, and Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat by Lynne Jonell) reminded me that you can write a book with silly, sometimes nearly unbelievable characters, and still have a good book that people will read and love.

If you knew anything about certain books of mine, you would understand how reassuring this is for me.

I picked up Crank in the middle of the YA section in Borders and sat down, read the entire thing, and cried. So different from what I normally read. This and Speak by Laurie Halse Paulsen has inspired me to write WYC, an almost non-fantasy book dealing with issues I've always thought should be touched upon, but haven't had a book I could do it in. (This is the book that nearly drove me suicidal by empathizing too much with my character). It is not a book to be quickly forgotten, I can tell you that.

First of all: I love Shaun Tan.

Second of all: This book is genius. It's a visual text that tells a story with no words. Something that is so very difficult to do. But SHaun Tan does it masterfully. And the artwork is magnificent. I wanted to just stare at the pictures all day, they were so complex.

Third of All: This book (and Varmints by Hellen Ward and Marc Craste) were among the first that I read that use pictures in large part to tell the story. I love when this idea is used to its full affect. When art and words go hand in hand seamlessly to tell a story. I think sometimes the idea of mixing the two art-forms is poo-pooed or looked down upon. I do not think it should be at all.

I had read a review about this book on someone's blog at some point or another (don't remember who or when or what) and they said they loved it, and was gushing over it. For whatever reason I was not convinced. I don't know why, but I wasn't. I was sure I hated the book and would never read it. In order to prove myself correct of this I picked it up in Borders to read the first paragraph.

Why I Chose This Book: I did not hate it. I sat down in the back and read it all and am desperate to own it. This book blew my mind. It was so well told. The characters were real. The plot was one that I should've guessed, but didn't. I will love this story forever. It is one I am planning on reading a second time, because I know I will get more out of it the second time round, which is not a common thing.

It appears I still have about seven other books I want to talk about, so I will end this post here and continue on later.

Do any of you have books that meant a lot to you this past year? What were some of them? Why did you love them? I would love to know!

Greek Mythology

Now, before I say anything I want it to be clear that I like Greek Mythology. I have enjoyed it on numerous occasions. I have even read the famous D'Aulaires book. (Once when I was young and

hated it and thought it was Pure Evil, a second time when I was a little bit older and understood its historically and literary value.) I've read re-tellings of Greek Myths. For example, Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson books and Emily Whitman's Radiant Darkness.

But sometimes I think Greek Myths are Way Too Popular. I've been reading this Ancient, Ancient, school book called Myths and Their Meanings, by Max J. Herzberg which was published in 1928 and is So Old I cannot find and ISBN #for it. It's an interesting enough book, but what bothers me is that the first 353 pages is all about Greek Myths. Nordic Myth is lumped in with the Celts for the rest of the book which is under 100 pages long! And there is no mention of Egyptian Mythology at all, and by this time in history people were aware of the Rosetta Stone and there were Egyptologists running about. Suffice it to say, I found it just a little bit disturbing.

Fortunately, it's been a good amount of time since 1928. There have been re-tellings of the Swan Maiden folktale, which is thought to be North-Eurasian as far as I can find. RL LaFevers has used Egyptian Mythology, and so did Rick Riordan in his newer book series the Kane Chronicles. The Nordic Myths seem to be not quite as popular, though I believe a certain blogger is trying to rectify that. (Ohmygoodness. I know she exists. I feel terrible. I have looked for her on twitter, on Google Reader, I have Googled her. I even looked on CafePress and I cannot remember what her blog is and I'm not sure of her name and I don't want to say the wrong thing. I feel so Terrible. But she does exist. I know she does.) D'Aulaires even put out a Norse Myth book as well, which is Very Exciting.

Still, there are certain Mythologies that still tend to be skipped over. Like Sumerian. There is a vast amount of myths in Japanese, Chinese, and Korean culture that is not seen as often. I'm sure there are others that I'm completely forgetting about, but you get the point.

And I do understand that Greek Mythology was adopted by the Romans who ruled the so-called World. I do know that it was considered a normal part of a high education to learn Greek so people could read Homer and the like. Even know you can go to many colleges and be able to take Greek. Not so much Ancient Egyptian. I was blessed to go to a college where I could take a semester of Akkadian, but that doesn't happen very often. Greek Myths are still more widely accessible than most other stories. (I am excluding European folk tales for now, because there is a certain distinction between Myth and Folk tale, according to some.)

I'm hoping this changes, and continues to change. I think it would be fantastic if more colleges offered special classes in Akkadian, or Egyptian, or whatever. I do think that even with the Paranormal shift in YA literature, looked over myths will start to be tapped into. Maybe even because of the shift in YA. (Can Greek and paranormal inter-mix? That would be interesting. Or even a Greek steampunk? Ahem. Anyway. Moving on.)

How about you? Any thoughts on the subject? I'd love to hear what you think. :)

I Have Banned Myself From the Library

No.

Seriously.

I have decided that I will finish up the books I have now and then give them to my mum to return. I will not step foot inside that addictive place. I mean, what alcoholic would condone going into a liquor store? Well. An addicted one I suppose. So... Being addicted to books I shouldn't condone going to the library, right? Right?

Pfffffffft....

Like that would ever work.

But I should probably consider, considering my TBR pile (ha! I love how writer's have their own lingo-anagram things. wip, mc, tbr, etc.) is 66books, and that doesn't include the 12 or more that I'm reading right now, or the books that have gotten shoved around and under things because I have no room on my shelves, and I don't even know how many books of Rebecca's I have yet to read that I want to...

Thus my banning from libraries. And I'm not allowed on Amazon until I have a job. And I can only go to Borders if I'm asking for a job. Fortunately, there are no more bookstores around, so I don't have to ban myself from any other place.

So...

How 'bout you? Is your TBR pile as bad as mine? Or worse? Have you had to ban yourself from any places? Maybe we should start a Book Buyers Anonymous? I've started to have to chant to myself, "Don't buy books, don't buy books," whenever I pass them in stores.

An old pic of my books.

It's become worse. Much worse.

Mockingjay: Nothing to Mock About

WARNING!!!! If you have not read the book yet, you probably don't want to read this because it is spoilery!!! Also, I warn that I wrote this right after reading the book, so it's probably emotionally jumbled... But it's pretty much exactly how the book made me feel, so... Here you go:

In one word: Devastating.

Now, I've heard from some people that they thought Mockingjay was too dark, and too bloody and um... Did you read the first two? It's a bloody story. It's a horrific story. As I said above, it was emotionally (and in my case) physically devastating. I can't explain to you how much I want to throw up and curl up into a ball and weep and retch. Mostly, because I don't think any of you want me to explain that to you.

Now, I don't like watching documentaries of war, I don't like watching war reenactments, but I've seen them. And when Collins was describing, toward the end of the book, the rush of the Rebels, the Peacekeepers, the innocents, all tangled in a mess of shooting and death... I wasn't thinking of Panem. I saw flashes of World War II, I saw the concentration camps, I saw every war that the stupid Human race has ever gone through...

I don't watch the news, I don't read the newspapers, I don't listen to the radio. Why? I can't deal with real life stuff, because I can't stop war, I can't stop people from dying, I can't do anything from my home here. But I can read about Panem, and I can read about their rebellion and I can retch and cry over them... And I wonder why that is.

Sitting here I'm tapping on a computer, a laptop, one that I own. My sister owns two laptops, my dad has one, my brother has one, plus we have two other computers. I'm listening to my sister douse herself in water, taking a shower- while people die everywhere because they don't have clean water. It made me see my life in a way I never, ever, wanted to see it. If my world were the same as the world that Collins describes, I would not be one of the districts. I would be part of the Capitol. Sure, I feel bad about stuff, but I'm okay staying where it's safe, and cold, and boring.

And that's the thing about books, about stories, about literature. It takes our world, re-names it, re-labels it, and shoves you inside to live in it. Really live in it. And it can either unaffect you, leaves you able to go back to life unchanged. Or a story can make you think, stays on the surface of your skin, but it fades after a few days. Or a story can completely ruin you, devastate you, cause you to fall flat on your butt and really look at life and ask 'Why?'

Another thing I did not expect from this book was the fact that it made me jealous. Yeah, go figure. But you see, Katniss lives in a world where it has already happened. The Capitol already took over, District 13 already rebelled... But I'm living in a world where that could easily happen, and there's nothing I can do to stop it. As far as I know, my children could live in a world very similar to that, and there's very, very little I can do about it. It reminds me of a quote I heard from someone around the blogosphere that I am not going to quote right, but he was saying that dystopian fiction is getting big right now not because it's a future that might happen sometime, but because it's a future that could be theirs.

So instead of being completely depressed (though, I still will be emotionally wrecked tomorrow, which is wonderful since I have to go to work), shouldn't I let this Story remind me to be careful about life? I still have my sister, I still have my family. I don't have to be psychologically ruined and scarred for life. I can still find a way to live my life with Meaning.

Katniss and Peeta, though severely mangled in so many ways, were still able to have some sort of decent life. And that's the thing. This story is not completely depressing, there is that ever-present light of hope.

It reminds me of the power of words, and I can only hope that one day I can do justice to that Power.

And though some would disagree with me, looking at the world through the eyes of Mockingjay, it leaves me ever more grateful that I'm not in control of the world. 'Cause even if sometimes God confuses my brain out, I still know He's in control, and I know He can use things like this book to wake me up and get me moving again.

Yup. Those are my rambly thoughts. Thanks for listening to me rant *smiles and nods off to sleep*

Conflicted

Recently I received the ARC for The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff.

Two Things:

a) I love, love, love it

2) It made me really, really upset

Why?

Love:

1) It is well written and intriguing and just gorgeously ugly sometimes. Didn't think that was possible? Well, it is.

b) It has a male protagonist. What? YA urban/paranormal fantasy with a male main character? Yes. It is SO refreshing. Plus, the love interest, Tate, is not your usual "Rescue me from the evil monster!" *cue fainting* but she's hardcore. I love it. Sure, maybe Mackie isn't the strongest character in and of himself, but he's real, he's not flat, and he has an actual personality. Isn't that fantastic?

c) Brenna adds a whole new spin on the whole Other Worldly things that made me all happy inside.

Dislike:

a) The language. Now, I know for some of you you're probably rolling your eyes around and getting ready to throw rocks at me for being a stingy, Christian, self-righteous bigot. Hold yourself together, and just listen a moment (which, as far as I know, all of you who read my blog are really good at listening and letting me explain my view on things, which I am super glad about. It's SO fantastic that we can have different views on things and none of us get all angry as beavers over it)

Anyhow...

I don't like language. Sometimes I can understand why it's used, and sometimes in the book I could give reason for it and could be okay with it, but sometimes it was unnecessary (in my mind). The problem with cursing is it's not creative, a huge part of the time. There's one thing to use it is as characterization, but another just to have it there. And my question is, when did it become okay in our society to use language like that? It used to be unprofessional, and not in younger aged books. But now teens curse, because that's what they learned from their parents, and what they expect from their bosses, and I never signed up for that kind of society.

So despite enjoying this book immensely there are some people I am not comfortable asking to read the book. And I will still tell them I loved it, but it will always be with a caveat, that there is some heavy language in it at parts.

So for those of you who are okay with language I would say go out and pre-order it because I think you'll love it.

So what about You? Does language bother you, do you only like it when it's used to make a point, or do you not even notice it? I'm curious to hear what y'all have to say.

The Super Sister Contest!!! :D

In honor of our birthdays the sis (Rebecca/SonshineMusic) and I are having a...

SUPER SISTER CELEBRATION CONTEST!

It will be Amazing. It will be a two-parter. The writerly Contest will be done over on her blog, and the normal ol' simple drawing one will be done over here. So here are the rules for the Contesty stuff for this part of the contest:

2 Winners!!!!!! YESH!!!!

To enter here are the easy-shmeasy rules:

1 - be a follower of both Rebecca's and my blogs. Please be our LamNams! :D

2 - You don't have to, but you can blog/tweet/facebook/whatever - - Rebecca said that SkyWriting will get you like, an armadillo or something. You can also do smoke signals,

in which case, I will die from excitement.

c - BE EXCITED!!!! This is, after all, a Contest, and who doesn't Love Contests?? Plus, it's so Super Easy even a Spake could do it! Okay, okay. I was going to try not to mention those things, but anyway...

d - Also, please let me know

a) What your favorite herb is

b) What your fav color/pattern is (like, if your fav pattern is pine trees or flying monkeys, I need to know that. Or if your fav color is plaid. Important stuff.)

5 - This will get you Absolutely Nothing, but if you would like, let me know which you would rather have as a pet, a Moose, a Duck, or an Avocado.

Now onto the PRIZES! *does a happy dance*

WAIT. I wasn't nearly Excited enough yet, because my Face is Asleep. Like This:

Don't I have Mad Drawing SKillz??

NOW I am awake. And Excited.

Okay. HERE are the PRIZES:

2 People will win:

Crazy for Chocolate - Who doesn't love chocolate? And if you're one of those weirdos who doesn't, it could make a Lovely Mother's Day/Birthday/Arbor Day present

Be Happy That... by Melissa Heckscher, Jordan Burchette, and Pat Mellon - This book is Hilarious, and is being used in the Other Contest Part, that Rebecca is in charge of. Trust me. It's pretty Amazing.

PLUS:

Your choice of a packet of herbs, like these:

Or Tarragon, or Oregano, or Others. There are so many possibilities!!

And I'll make you your very own Mini-Pillow.

But wait! There's more:

For whoever can find the most Unique way to let others know about this Contest there is a Special Prize:

An Owl Key Hanger - What could possibly be cooler?

Broken by Karin Slaughter - I met her at BEA and guess what?...

Yuppers. It's signed.

So go on. Enter the contest with a simple comment below, find an Ingenious way to promote to Super Sister Celebration Contest, and you just might WIN! :D

It runs from Now This Very Instant until August 27th. THEN, while we figure out the winners, we'll let ya'll know.

P.S. Psst... Her birthday is the 31st, so make sure you run over and embarrass her on her birthday. ;P

P.P.S Here are some bannerly things Rebecca made for You:

P.P.P.S That's All. No. Really.

P.P.P.P.S Okay. I'm a liar. Don't forget to enter the other Half of the Contest over HERE.

E is for Eurghakkkkkkaaaa (Because I Don't Know What Else to Name This)

Okay.

Right now my brain is so fried from school, a symposium thing-a-ma-bob (nothing major, just a lot to think about) so I'm going to do another book blog. Yay!

So awhile ago I won a contest Falen was hosting. Ages, and ages ago, when the moon was still young and the sun was still old... Erm, I mean... *sigh* Reading way to much mythology stuff, anyway. I won a B&N gift card and I finally just HAD to go book shopping today. Look what I got:

I LOVE mythology books. I am so excited to read them, and I've already start going highlighting crazy on the one. The other tiny, tiny pic of one is an herb book. It has led my mum and me to want to start an herb gardening. I am totally doing that this summer.

After I write a paper on the reason why America won't continue because of the lack of mythology.

Oh! And about the Contest: I realized I forgot to ask ya'll to add up your points when you're all done, and leave the total in the comments. With how good I am with math, if I counted points up I'd end up giving someone -23 points and someone else 62.

B is for Books, Duh

Okay, so this one is kinda' obvious. Who knows how many other people are going to write about Books? Okay, so I could probably go find out how many people are, but there is no way I have time for that. So today I am going to just post about some of the few books that I will actually read more than once.

Yes, that's right. I very rarely re-read books. *waits while book lovers across the world throw rocks at me* But I already know what happens, so you have to be real super good for me to read a book again.

The first is the Silmarillion. Yup. Even die-hard Tolkien fans haven't been able to get through this even once, but it is definitely something I would read again, and again, and again. Why? Well, because I'm insane. I thought I had already proven that? I kid, I kid.

I love it and would read it again because Tolkien has created his very own mythology. He was a philologist, a linguist, so many things that I would love to be if I had the time, money, or patience. Which, right now I don't have any of those.

Anyway, Tolkien is masterful in the way he writes this book, making it seem like a true history book. I know some of you are thinking *yawn* and usually I would be with you. I am very picky about history books. If they even have a scent of being boring, I can't even pick it up. I'm terrible when it comes to the whole "don't judge a book by its cover." Are you kidding? I don't only judge books by their covers, I sentence them to jail, refuse parole, and stick 'em in a dungeon based on their covers alone.

Ahem. Moving on.

Drool... This is just a fantastic pic of them all. Well. All but one.

Another series of books that I will re-read numerous times are The Series of Unfortunate Events. They are hilarious, well written, and have big words in them. There is an underlying mystery and mythos that leaves one intrigued. There are just not enough words to explain how amazing these books are. I have no idea how Lemony Snickette/Daniel Handler can write about death, dying, destruction, and a vicious serial killer while still being riotously funny.

The Hunger Games.

You probably have heard the hype, and for some people this is reason alone not to read it. I can't really blame you, because I usually don't like reading books if they're hyped up all over the place. So pretend this book has never been mentioned before except by me, because I'm writing about it right now and it would be hard to pretend you haven't heard about it from even me. It is fantastic. She draws you, makes you care, in the first chapter. You are already hooked. You are a worm, you are so hooked. And yes, it is a fast read (Catching Fire was worse) and that is kinda' sad because it's so good and it's over with so quickly... But that's one of the reasons I love it. Books I have to wade through are good, but they take effort, and sometimes I just don't want to exert effort to read a book.

So there you go, three books that I would re-read time and time again.

A is for April and Already Aggravated

So Lee over at Tossing it Out has decreed this challenge where you write posts every day (except for Sundays) and each day you begin with a new letter of the alphabet, starting with A of course and moving down daily until you hit Z. Shouldn't be hard, right? Ha. Ha.

So, I will be attempting to do this, but it will probably end up getting divided between this blog and Slumpvis Musings. If that annoys you I'm sorry. There's just no way I can to TWO posts a day. Why?

Because April is evil. Now, most people may not realize this. But it is. Seriously. I would have to go back and check my (ridiculous) journals to double check, but from my memory I remember April always being difficult. (Except for in 2008, when I went to London. But that doesn't count.)

First: Woke up sick.

Second: Was stupid and went to school anyway.

Third: Skipped class even though I was here, because I ran up to a friend's room to sleep.

Sounds like a terrible start to the month, don't it?

Fortunately, something wonderful happened yesterday, which is holding up my metaphorically brain fort. Okay. That sounds more weird than it did in my head.

For one of my stories I am creating a mythological creature. This has been, in fact, one of my goals in life. Some people want to change the world, help initiate world peace by making scones, but I simply want to create mythological creatures. Trust me, it sounds easier than it is.

In this story (the one based on an inside joke about these creatures named Spakes) I was trying to figure out what exactly Spakes were when they weren't parading around as humans. Except, they don't really parade, because they are super, super secretive. Anyway. I knew they were dog-like, but definitely NOT werewolves. No. No. No. And so I was all confused and thinking about it right before I woke up.

And ding!

Like a microwave reaching zero, like my annoying oven finishing its countdown, inspiration hit me like a frying pan. I jerked awake and scrambled to look at my Idiot's Guide to Mythology.

I am loving this book

Right now I'm not going to give anything away, because it's an idea I haven't heard of anyone doing before so I'm kinda' being mom-protective of it, and I still have to do research on it to see if it's in fact a viable option. I will say it does not have to do with the Greeks, and does have to do with both the Egyptians and the Hebrews. Possibly. I am super, super, mad excited. Which makes up for waking up sick, missing class, and having to drag myself to another class in ten minutes.

This is why I write. Without it my life would be mad boring.

Ugh... I'm going to fall asleep just looking at this.

Odds and Ends

This week I got some exciting things in the mail. They are small, they are pieces of paper, and they have pictures on them. What could they be, you ask? Why! They are these:

Business Cards!!!

I just love moo.com. I heard about them through Rachele and I checked out the website and they gave you ten cards for free. Free, people. I am poor, and free is good. Now, when I actually get published, and when I am not longer poor (these two things don't necessarily go together) I will buy some more. I was quite impressed with the quality. And they let you upload your own pictures. How sweet is that? I will tell you how sweet. How sweetly exciting: #3.

And also I got these:

Books!!

And not any books, but books by Jessica Wagstrom about Xlormp. They're a parody of the Twilight books, and they are absolutely hilarious. She does take some cheap shots by using crude humor (I call it cheap, because anyone and their dog can do it. It takes much more creative juice to be funny without just mentioning something considered 'taboo' by society) but over-all she is so funny I can't help but bust out with snorts and "GHK!" while trying to breathe.

And one day I may tell you what I think about Twilight, but for now I am going to go write a thousand words or so.

Oh! And there is a contest over at: Falen Formulates Fiction. SonshineMusic told me about her, and she is a super cool person, so I thought I'd let you know :)

An Old Post I Never Got Around To Posting

Finally, the blog you have all been waiting for! Okay. Maybe not. Maybe the blog I've been waiting for. I still can't find my camera, but I was able to borrow my sisters (thanks Sonshine!) so here is the blog I tried to write ages ago:

Yesterday I went shopping! I bought some shirts:

Notice the buttons. I have only recently started buying shirts with buttons because at twenty I am feeling a great need to feel professional, even though I am a dork. When I was younger you never would have seen me wearing button up shirts, being the tomboy-play-in-the-mud type of person that I was. Button-up shirts were for wusses, or for my sisters. Seriously, my one sister just looks cute in everything. (You know who you are, Oombah.) The other one could wear a plastic bag and a paint bucket on her head and she would somehow look fantastic, stylish, and professional.

Only my sis is... Not quite as stuck looking.

Anyway, so I bought these button up shirts feeling all very grown up. But then I went to Borders, because Borders is amazing, and because my cute sister works there. Then I tried to shop around and give all of the other books a fair chance, but for reals, I am way too picky and biased. (Though I did find a book called Night Runner that I must read now.) So I ran over to the one book that I wanted. The one book which was the sole reason for my bookstore visit. (I must have sole reasons or I’ll start buying stacks and stacks of books.)

Captivate, by Carrie Jones. Her first one, Need, just grabbed me by the collar and placed me in cold, frigid, Maine without asking my permissions. The second one did the same thing. Here I am, minding my own business, and suddenly swoop I’m inside the book. I just love her voice. She sounds like me with caffeine. Only in a good way. Like, a super nice way, because she is a super nice person.

And now that I have found a camera I will stop being a lazy boring person and post up the pictures of something I have been waiting for:

Hoorah!

No, not my face, the writer's gloves. They are made by Rachele and are as sweet as pumkin pie. I have been toting them around everywhere like the dork I am, because I absolutely love them. I cannot wait until her book gets published. I read a part of it that she posted on her blog and I almost cried. Me. Cry. I never cry. The first movie I cried at was Up, and the first book I cried at was Bridge to Terabithia. Seriously. This girl is good.

Oh. And don’t believe I’m a dork? Just look what I asked for Christmas?

Mango!

Yes. A mango. And it was delicious.

Real Quick:

I've been author stalking. It is so much fun, for reals. And one of the people's I've been author stalking is Kiersten White and I was reading her comments and did what i usually do. Start clicking on random people's names to see if I find them interesting people's or not.

And that, my friends, is how I stumbled upon Valerie K and she is having a super cool contest. So, of course, I am telling ya'll about it. Though i'm realizing now that I only have like, three followers. This means I must start doing things to get people to actually read this. Of course, this would mean that I would need to start paying more attention to the authors I follow so I can be more awesome like them.

Apparently this is Awesome. Go figure.

I should carry umbrellas around with me more often.

But the contest is for some super cool books. Like Night Runner by some dude with the last name Turner. I started reading it at Borders because I was looking at the "T" section (since my last name ends with "T" and I wanted to see who else has a name with that letter) and I started reading it and I so wish I had money because I would have bought it right there.

I don't really know about the other books, but I am sure they are cool. So I'm goign to be entering the contest and didn't know if you would want to as well! (I don't know what it is, but whenever I see a contest, no matter what, I feel like I MUST enter it or I will die or highly offend someone. But that is not why I am entering. I am entering because I want to. For reals.)

Anyhoo, that is all.